Movies You Need To See: The Fall Guy, Cemetery Man, and More

THE FALL GUY

In what amounts to a two hour lobbying effort to get STUNTS a much deserved category at the Academy Awards, ‘s “The Fall Guy” blasts into theaters this weekend offering death defying spectacle, a blockbuster romance, and the greatest mega-ton charisma bomb that has graced cinema screens in decades: scruffy, goofy, Academy Award Nominee .

Following the journey of a down on his luck stuntman in love with his director, “The Fall Guy” is a marvel of high wire slapstick and slavish devotion to real world stunt work. Director (“John Wick”, “Bullet Train”, “Deadpool 2”), a former stuntman, coordinator, and double for Brad Pitt; imbues the movie with an unbinding love for the craft of filmmaking and the back-breaking devotion of stunt people who sacrifice their bodies upon the altar of cinema. It is rare to see a film on this scale so unabashedly earnest and gleeful in its celebration of artisans often relegated to unseen credit blocks and the indignity of CGI face replacement technology.

A big screen reimagining of the classic 80’s TV show of the same name, “The Fall Guy” actually seems to be taking its cues more from the films of , director of incredible films like “Hooper” (1978) and “Smokey and the Bandit” (1977), and whose legendary career as stuntman for Burt Reynolds directly inspired the character of Cliff Booth in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time In…Hollywood” (2019). These films were sweaty, bare knuckle fun; featuring mind bending stunt work conceived of by the very same stunt people performing them. The passion for these films and the art of stunts is foundation to an entire generation of stunt performers and is apparent in every frame of this film, with a climactic car jump directly riffing off THIS rocket car leap from the final minutes of “Hooper”.

But the glue that holds the film together is Ryan Gosling, possibly our greatest modern movie star currently operating in his optimum era; playing low status, muscly schlubs with hearts of gold. Between last year’s “Barbie” (2019) and the underseen brilliance that was “The Nice Guys” (2016), Gosling shines brightest when he is silly and earnest, weaponizing his godly smolder and inherent comedic timing for maximum entertainment value. A direct counterbalance to the dreary slog that was “The Gray Man” (2022), here Leitch unleashes Gosling into full Buster Keaton mode, playing him like a well tuned slide whistle with puppy dog eyes who can sell a heartbreak flashback just as well as a pratfall after nearly getting sliced by a katana. This film does not work without Gosling. With him, however, certain sequences border on transcendent. That’s the mark of a movie star.

Filling out the ensemble with wonderful comedic turns by Emily Blunt (“Oppenheimer”, “Mary Poppins Returns”), Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (“Kick-Ass”, “Bullet Train”), and Winston Duke (“Black Panther”, “Nine Days”); “The Fall Guy” is a hoot from start to finish; a love story that’s also a love letter to the dirty work of cinema and a fun time at the movies for all.

“The Fall Guy” is showing at The Broad Theater and Prytania Theatres At Canal Place.

Cemetery Man

The bloody schlock fest “Cemetery Man” (1994) is returning to theaters in a ‘gore-ious’ 4K restoration. A late era Italian zombie slash-em-up in the tradition of Argento and Bava, “Cemetery Man”, directed by and starring Rupert Everett, follows the story of a man tasked with killing the dead who rise from his local grave yard. Chock full of the viscera spewing excess that made this era of horror so singular, “Cemetery Man” is a forgotten diamond in the grave, ripe for reclamation and decapitation.

“Cemetery Man” is showing at The Broad Theater.

The People’s Joker

The People’s Joker” is now showing at The Broad Theater for an expanded theatrical run due to rampant critical acclaim. The best film ever made about The Joker, ‘s satirical superhero, gender identity opus is rapidly cementing itself as an icon of queer cinema and one of the finest modern examples of spit and glue indie filmmaking. Bold, charming, and heartfelt in just the right ways, “The People’s Joker” feels like a movie that should not exist but the world is better for it; a neon-drenched thumb in the eye of stoic convention that will have you grinning ear to ear.

Check it out while you still can.

You’ll be glad you did.

“The People’s Joker” is showing at The Broad Theater.

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